South Africa hosts Street Child World Cup

Tags: charity | events

Whilst the FIFA World Cup is reaching fever pitch down in South Africa, the country has also recently played host to another footballing event - the Street Child World Cup.

Led by the children themselves, the Street Child World Cup began the process of forming a global Street Child Manifesto.Together, they calledfor street children's rights to a full, healthy, dignified life, as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC),to beupheld.

Nine teams took part - UK, Brazil, India, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Vietnam, Philippines, South Africa, and Ukraine, in an attempt to raise awareness of children who are forced to live on the streets for whatever reason. Teams stayed in a central location in Durban that provides holiday accommodation for disadvantaged children, and there, theysocialised with each other and the adults that were with them. For the first week of their experience, each team linked up with a different Durban school - part of the British Council's Dreams and Teams programme.

While they were there they took part in football coaching from Coaching for Hope. They also worked with a team of specially trained artists whoenabled the street children to communicate their stories and the issues which are most important to them. Artwork created is being exhibited at the Durban Art Gallery. They then discussed issues of importance to them, so that after the event they have returned to be able to act as advocates and mentors for other street children in their home countries. They also visited a game park, tried some surfing and sharedmusic. Each team entertained the others with a presentation about their country - singing, dancing, food, presents. In the final three days, the teams came together to discuss practical solutions to the issues they raised. Each team formed a‘Street Child Manifesto' which will form the basis of new campaigning for street children's rights to be upheld.

In the actual football, it was India who were victorious after beating Tanzania 1-0 in the final. The Indian captain and one of the organizers of the event spoke after the game. He said: "It is a privilege to be involved in the occasion and hopefully we can sustain this project in the future as well."

There were also a number of high-profile ambassadors for the event including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and England footballer David Beckham. Beckham said: "I know from personal experience just what power football can have to inspire and change young people's lives whatever their background or nationality. This is what the Street Child World Cup is all about."

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